Departmental Public Opinion

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on  (a) focus groups and  (b) opinion polls in each year since its inception; how much he estimates will be spent on each category in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: Since May 2007 the Ministry of Justice spent £498,241 on focus groups, and £751,682 on opinion polls. We plan to spend a further £6,500 in 2008-09. The following table provides details of focus groups and opinion polls carried out by the Ministry of Justice since inception in 2007, and any current estimates for such in 2008-09.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice focus groups and opinion polls 
			  £ 
			  Commissioned research  Planned research 
			  Name of the opinion poll/focus group  Name of firm carrying out the work  Opinion poll  Focus group  Total cost in 2007-08 (exc VAT)  Total cost in 2007-08 (inc VAT)  Total cost in 2008-09 (exc VAT)  Total cost in 2008-09 (exc VAT)  Total estimated cost in 2008-09 (exc VAT)  Total estimated cost in 2008-09 (inc VAT) 
			 HMCS Court User Survey MORI Yes  (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) Ipsos MORI Yes  485,990 571,038 
			 Court Service Survey n/a—conducted internally Yes  0 0 
			 Constitution Directorate tracker survey Ipsos MORI Yes  38,300 45,000 
			 General Public Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (Capibus survey) Ipsos MORI Yes  22,280 26,179 
			 Legal Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (online survey) Ipsos MORI Yes  7,800 9,165 
			 Health and Social Care Professionals Awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (paper survey) Distribution through Binleys Survey conducted by Ipsos MORI Yes  24,278 28,468 
			 Survey Draft Public Law Outline Not applicable conducted internally Yes  0 0 
			 The Pro Bono Work of Legal Executives ECOTEC Yes  39,813 46,780 
			 Testing of language and understanding of Departmental Strategic Objectives GfK NOP Yes  6,270 7,367 
			 Employment tribunal mediation pilot Westminster University, fieldwork subcontracted to BMRB Yes  43,800 51,465 
			 Local Face to Face satisfaction Survey Not applicable conducted internally Yes  0 0 
			 Local Victim and Witness Survey Not applicable—conducted internally by Witness Service Yes  0 0 
			 Local Student Confidence in CJS Not applicable conducted internally Yes  0 0 
			 Tribunal Service Customer Satisfaction Survey FDS International Limited Yes  (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Citizenship Insight Project   Yes (2)90,610  
			 Customer Expectation Survey   Yes (2)37,000  
			 Research on development of the Before The Event legal expenses insurance   Yes (2)20,011  
			 Improving public confidence in the Criminal Justice System; inform, persuade and remind.   Yes (2)19,800  
			 Justice and Schools   Yes (2)10,000  
			 Community Justice Merthyr Tydfil   Yes (2)24,000  
			 on consultation paper on Inspection powers and funding arrangements of the Information Commissioner Arranged internally  Yes n/a n/a 0 0 6,500 6,500 
			 Offender management strategy: practitioner research PWC No39,871  0 0 
			 Public Confidence in the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales: June 2008 PWC Yes Yes   30,975  0 0 
			 Assessing implementation of the pilot of the Stable & Acute dynamic risk assessment tool NatCen  Yes x5   106,935 125,860   
			 Frontline Matters information architecture project: website Cogapp  Yes 175 206 
			 Literature hierarchy project: CJS publications Bang  Yes x3   2,400 2,820   
			 Community understanding of high risk offenders communities, hostels etc TNS  Yes   12,000
			 Your Justice Your World website—usability research Edcoms Yes11,290
			 Omnibus survey: module on Non-Resident Parental Contact Office for National Statistics Yes  55,231  16,630  0 0 
			 Process assessment of revised public law protocol guidance   Yes   104,464
			 Use of family (and civil) Sharia Law in the UK  Yes  ¦  (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Baseline for evaluation of impact of legal services reform on users and suppliers  Yes(3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 Increasing efficacy in commissioning Psychiatric reports—good practice guidance   Yes   (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— 
			 (1) Costing information is not supplied as this is commercial in confidence. This survey is subject to periodic re-tendering and release of the costings would weaken the Department's negotiating position. (2) April to November 2007 spend. (3) Commercial in Confidence.  Notes: 1. Current projects planned but not commissioned are all commercial in confidence as disclosing budget may impact or tendering process. 2. Costs refer to total spend within year for complete project which often includes more than just focus groups or opinion polls (or other deliberative research).